Me
I am a wife, mother, pastor’s wife, and child of God – in no particular order. Truth be told, I could go on and on with other roles I play, but these seem to be the most significant at this point. My husband, Andy, is a minister at a small evangelical church outside of Boston and we are the parents to an amazing little boy, Jadon. Our journey that brought us to where we are now has not always been easy, but has certainly been fulfilling.
Upon getting married in 2006, my husband began his seminary coursework in a dual masters program, with the goal being to ultimately teach at the college level. (Can you already see a u-turn in our journey?) I worked as a teacher in a very small Christian school. We lived in a very quaint, one bedroom, basement apartment and our landlords (an elderly couple in their 80s) lived above us. We also attended a small church about 25 minutes away from us that both our families have deep roots in. Although these first three years of our marriage were not always easy, God taught us a lot and provided for all of our needs.
Before Andy began his third and final year of seminary, we were overjoyed to find out that we were expecting our first child. Thus began the process that most first-time parents go through of planning and worrying about how to provide for this child. We were also going to be in the unique position of facing some other major life changes around the time that I was due to have this baby. It was during my pregnancy that God began actively revealing his plan for our family, first to me and then to my husband. To our surprise, this plan did not involve teaching… for either of us! Over time, we both felt the same calling to be serving the local church in full-time Christian ministry.
The time came for our son to be born and he arrived perfectly healthy. The questions, however, of where God was leading us were still lingering. A few weeks after Jadon’s birth, Andy graduated from the seminary. I was all done teaching and Andy worked a part-time job on-campus. We still prayed and trusted God for his provision of a full-time ministry position and housing and He provided in a way we never expected. The very church that we had been attending for the past three years became the church that God was calling us to minister to. So, a few months after Andy graduated we moved from our tiny apartment to the roomy parsonage that has become our home in so many ways over the past year.
I am now “working from home” – caring for my son and my household, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve learned to take each day as it comes and value the simple pleasures I’ve been blessed with. God has provided me with ways to use my time to serve Him and others. My ministry has changed so much over the past year as I have tried to set aside my own desires and focus on the priceless treasure of salvation that God has given me.
This Blog
So, how does blogging fit into my life? Honestly, entering the blogging world is a little overwhelming to me, but just as my husband and I felt God’s direct calling in our life to bring us where we are right now, I sincerely believe that God is calling me to write and encourage others. I don’t know how easy this will come to me, but I’m willing to learn if you will bear with me and choose to see the heart behind the words.
I’m far from being perfect at anything, but I am always trying to better myself in all these areas that God has called me to. It’s not always been easy to embrace where He’s placed me, as you will quickly discover in my writings, but I plan to be as open in my struggles as I am in His blessings in my life. About 8 months ago I started getting into reading blogs, through the encouragement of my husband. Despite the fear and anxiety that comes over me at the thought of sharing my thoughts and convictions publicly, I was strangely drawn to the concept of blogging. I follow blogs about moms, wives, biblical womanhood, food, saving money, decorating my home, ministry, activities for children, and even the lives of some friends of mine. My struggle was in finding that one blog that I could go to that spoke about each of these “simple pleasures” in life in light of the “priceless treasure” that I’ve found in Jesus Christ. That’s when I came to the point of asking myself, “Could I write a blog?” When I asked my husband this his first response was, “Do you really have time for that?” to which I responded, “You’re right… I really don’t.” And that was that… NOT. Throughout the evening I couldn’t stop thinking about writing a blog. Come to find out, neither could my husband. He eventually spoke out saying, “If you did have a blog, what would it be about?” It was pretty much a done deal from that point on, although it’s taken quite some time to actually launch the blog due to this all taking place shortly before the holiday season began.
So, here it is. My blog: Simple Pleasure, Priceless Treasure. Writings devoted to encouraging women (singles, wives, moms, grandmothers, anyone) to embrace a gospel-centered approach to ministry, homemaking, marriage, family, friendship, and working – all of life! Should you choose to frequent this blog, you will find resources for maintaining a home to use in ministry, raising up a family who loves God and each other, and encouraging spiritual growth in women at all stages of life. I’ll also be sharing personal testimony of God’s work in my life and family through stories, pictures, music, and videos. I hope you’ll join me in the journey of biblical womanhood and the pursuit of living a gospel centered life.
